A bill to fundamentally restructure how Arizona’s three state universities are managed passed an Arizona Senate committee Monday as a fast-tracked proposal that won't receive much public input.

Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, wants to effectively dismantle the Arizona Board of Regents and vastly expand the governor and Legislature's control of state universities.

Instead of a 10-member board appointed by the governor, Finchem wants a board of elected officials to serve as “trustees” and separate, local boards for each of the three universities.

The bill would put the governor and legislative leaders in charge of setting policies for the universities on issues such as tuition rates, reducing student debt or increasing job placements for students.

Finchem said the bill will rein in the regents, who he claims have stepped outside their authority and into the policy arena, and install local control over the universities.

Eileen Klein, president of the Arizona Board of Regents.(Photo: David Wallace/The Republic)

For the typical student or university employee, the bill presents a “tremendous change” in operations, according to Eileen Klein, president of the Arizona Board of Regents. A series of appointees at the local boards would mean a lot of churn in decision making on important issues such as tuition and campus safety, she said.

Universities’ missions also could change over time as they compete against each other for resources, she said.

Now, the single oversight body forces university presidents to work together for higher educational attainment, higher graduation rates and a better state workforce, Klein said.

“The state risks being a tremendous loser in that scenario,” she said.

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Those words — that university instruction should be "as nearly free as possible" — are still sparking confusion, angry debate and now a lawsuit.
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The measure skipped the ordinary legislative process, which involves hearings before committees and full votes of each chamber, because it came as a 278-page strike-everything amendment to an unrelated bill.

The bill, House Bill 2203, started as a proposal about wildlands and watersheds. Because of that, it was heard by the Senate Natural Resources, Water and Energy Committee, a committee that doesn't typically hear education bills.

The committee approved the bill on a 5-3 party-line vote, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.

What the bill would do

The bill would wipe out the regents' budget and staff. The replacement board of trustees would include the governor and legislative leaders from both parties.

In addition, the governor would appoint four people from the business sector and three academic representatives to each of the three local boards at Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University.

State Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley.(Photo: The Republic)

The local boards would see a limited budget of no more than $170,000 per year for reimbursements for all members. The bill also says the local boards can hire "adequate staff" to carry out their work, but doesn't set a cost limit.

The regent's annual budget of $5.6 million would be wiped out, and the "board of trustees" would be prohibited from hiring staffers. The board currently has 34 full-time workers.

Finchem attempted to overhaul and dismantle the board last legislative session, though his previous effort didn't get this far. His initial bill on the topic this session didn’t get a hearing.

He believes the regents have overstepped their authority and moved into the policy arena, edging into the Legislature’s role, he said.

“That’s not their job. Their job is to execute, not create policy,” Finchem said.

Have regents overstepped their authority?

Some of the regents’ decisions in recent years have put the board at odds with the conservative Legislature on issues such as leasing and taxation by universities, athletic contract payouts to coaches and tuition rates for students covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA allows young immigrants without serious criminal records who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children to apply for temporary protection from deportation and renewable two-year work permits.

“A lot of people in many halls have voiced significant frustration with a lot of aspects of the university system,” Finchem said.

Klein said it’s true that the regents set policy — she said it’s part of their job duties. The board’s duties are determined by the Legislature in state statutes, and the regents set policy based on those laws, she said.

Arizona law says the board "may adopt, and authorize each university to adopt, such regulations, policies, rules or measures as are deemed necessary" and can delegate those directives to the universities.

“It would be unfair to expect the board not to be involved in policy, they are a policy-making body,” Klein said.

Universities would compete, not collaborate

Klein said the bill would pit the universities against each other to compete for students and research dollars instead of allowing them to work together to help the state as a whole.

That’s part of Finchem’s goal with the legislation.

He said he wants the universities to compete against each other because “competition is always good for the soul.”

Klein said policy issues such as changing the board's structure deserve to be discussed, noting that the board’s size and structure haven’t changed much in decades, despite massive growth at the universities.

But because the bill would set up two-year terms for local board members, Klein said it may have an unintended negative consequence of less accountability because members would be moving in and out in short order. Regents are now appointed for eight years.

She said a bill of this scope, which could have massive consequences for the universities, shouldn’t be rushed through the Legislature. Instead it should have full hearings and all stakeholders should have an opportunity to weigh in, she said.

“A complete restructuring of the university system should not be done through a strike-everything amendment,” Klein said.

Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai, a Democrat from Cameron, voted against the bill and questioned why the natural-resources committee was weighing a massive higher-education overhaul.

“If this proposal has been years in the making, why is it on a strike-everything bill?” Peshlakai asked the committee on Monday.

Finchem requested an opinion last year from the state attorney general to assess how the Legislature could alter the board. The attorney general concluded the Legislature had broad authority to set up the powers and duties of the regents.

Have Arizona universities lost their focus?

Finchem thinks universities in the state may have lost their focus on their primary mission of educating students and preparing them for work after college. If the schools are controlled locally, they can adapt better to changes and align better with the real world outside universities, he said.

Right now, the regents are tasked with too much, Finchem said.

Under his proposal, the board of trustees made up of elected officials would set policy for the universities, and their local boards would carry out that policy. He hopes the system would allow for more accountability and transparency.

“I think we’ve asked (the regents) to do an impossible job with the wrong work rules and the wrong expectations,” he said.

Statehood day: Arizona's first day of statehood might have come six years earlier if voters had approved a proposal to admit New Mexico and Arizona to the Union as a single state, but Arizona voters rejected the plan. It might have come a day or two earlier if Feb. 12 had not been a holiday, Abraham Lincoln's birthday, and 13 not been considered unlucky. Instead, Feb. 14, 1912, it was. Photo: Library of Congress

Tucson's population: Tucson's population is about 525,796, making it Arizona's second-largest city the 33rd-largest city in the U.S., according to 2011 Census Bureau data. Photo: Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau

Fountain Hills fountain: The fountain in Fountain Hills was built in 1970 by Robert McCulloch as part of the master-plan community of Fountain Hills. When built, it was the world's tallest fountain and held that record for more than a decade. Photo: Cheryl Evans/The Republic

Lori Piestewa: Lori Piestewa, who in 2003 in southern Iraq became the first Native American woman to die in combat, was from Tuba City. Piestewa Peak in north-central Phoenix was renamed in her honor shortly after her death. Photo: Getty Images

Yuma Territorial Prison: Yuma Territorial Prison opened July 1, 1876, when seven convicts from the Yuma County Jail filed into the new facility, which they had helped build. Over the decades, more than 3,000 prisoners (including 29 women) served time there for such crimes as rape, robbery, polygamy, prizefighting and selling liquor to American
Indians. Photo: Yuma Crossing National Heritage

Jerome Grand Hotel: Jerome Grand Hotel, formerly a hospital for this historic town's miners, is believed to be one of the most haunted places in Arizona, and ghost tours are offered for guests. Photo: Mark W. Lipczynski/The Republic

Scottsdale Community College Artichokes: In 1971, the Scottsdale Community College student body, disgruntled with the amount of money dedicated to athletics, expressed its anger by voting for the artichoke as its mascot -- and pink and white as the school colors. The name stuck. However, the athletic department drew the line at pink-and-white uniforms. SCC's colors are blue and white. Photo: Jack Kurtz/ The Republic

American Indian tribes: Arizona is home to 21 federally-recognized American Indian tribes and nearly 300,000 members live in the state, as their ancestors have for hundreds of years. Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic

Bible Museum: Some biblical artifacts at The Bible Museum in Goodyear date back 2,100 years and the museum’s gems include fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a page from a Gutenberg Bible and original copies of the King James Bible from 1611. The museum is in an office at The Hampton Inn & Suites. Photo: Joel Lampe

Arizona has more than 100 lakes but Stoneman Lake and Mormon Lake (pictured) are the only natural ones. All the rest were created for flood control, power generation or irrigation. Photo: Tom Tingle/The Republic

Monument Hill: Monument Hill, which abuts Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, is the location of the Gila and Salt River Baseline and Meridian. Virtually all land surveys in the state are tied to the point where the baseline and meridian intersect. Photo: Richard Nilsen/The Republic

Daylight-savings time: Arizona observed daylight-saving time briefly during both World Wars and again in 1967, as required by the federal Uniform Time Act. After 1967, the state opted to remain on standard time year-round. Most of Arizona remains on Mountain Standard Time throughout the year. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Oldest performing-arts institution: Phoenix Theater is Arizona's oldest performing-arts institution. It was originally called the Phoenix Players when it was founded in 1920. Photo: Tom Tingle/The Republic

Longest serving Arizona-senator: U.S. Sen. Carl T. Hayden represented Arizona as a U. S. representative and senator for more than 41 years, the fifth longest congressional term in American history. Photo: Phoenix VA Hospital

Arizona State Fair: The Arizona State Fair has been held at the 80-acre site at 19th Avenue and McDowell Road in Phoenix since 1905. The fair was suspended for several years during the Great Depression and during World War II. But with the war's end, the fair began again and has continued uninterrupted since 1946. Photo: The Republic

First female governor: Rose Mofford made history as Arizona's first female governor. Mofford, then secretary of state, took over the top office in 1988 after Gov. Evan Mecham was impeached for obstruction of justice and misuse of funds. Photo: The Republic

Tempe Town Lake: After more than 12 years of planning, design and construction, Tempe Town Lake was finally filled with nearly 1 billions gallons of water and officially dedicated in 1999. Photo: David Kadlubowski/The Republic

Echo Canyon Summit Trail: Hiking the entire Echo Canyon Summit Trail to the top of Camelback Mountain in Phoenix is a greater climb than ascending all 103 floors of the Empire State Building. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Largest reservation: The Navajo Reservation is the largest in the United States, covering parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Arizona's portion is home to more than 100,000 residents. Phoo: Mark Henle/The Republic

Taliesin West: Taliesin West in Scottsdale, the winter home and studio of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, houses the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and provides tours to more than 100,000 visitors a year. Photo: Frank Lloyd Wright

Surprise's founder: According to Surprise city officials, Flora Mae Statler founded Surprise in 1938 when she platted its first subdivision and named it "Surprize." Her daughter, Elizabeth Statler Stofft, said the area got its name after Statler said, "She would be surprised if the town ever amounted to much." Photo: Michael Schennum/The Republic

Light-rail ridership: On an average weekday in 2013, the Valley Metro light rail, which spans from Mesa to Phoenix, had a ridership of nearly 44,000, according to Valley Metro data. Photo: Michael Schennum/The Republic

Bisbee: During its boom years as a mining town, Bisbee was one of the largest cities between San Francisco and New Orleans. It was home to more than 9,000 residents in 1910. Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic

David Spade: David Spade grew up in Scottsdale. Spade went from stand-up comedy to a stint on "Saturday Night Live" to a thriving TV career to a film career that includes "Tommy Boy," "Grown Ups" and "The Benchwarmers." Photo: CBS

Wallace & Ladmo: The local children's television show "Wallace & Ladmo" is among longest-running shows in television history. It debuted in 1954 on KPHO-TV5 and ended in 1989. Photo: Michael Meister/The Republic

Lost Dutchman Mine: Jacob Waltz, also known as the Lost Dutchman, worked as a miner, and in 1868 he settled 160 acres near the Salt River in what is now the East Valley. He died there in the fall of 1891, just after — so the story goes — telling his caretakers, Julia Thomas and Rhinehart Petrasch, about a fabulously rich mine in the nearby Superstition Mountains. People have been searching for it ever since. Photo: Cheryl Evans/The Republic

ASU's first name: When ASU was founded in 1885, it was called the Territorial Normal School of Tempe. It went through numerous name changes -- including Normal School of Arizona and Tempe State Teachers College -- before it finally became Arizona State University in 1958. Photo: Tempe History Museum

First wave pool in the U.S.: Tempe Big Surf Waterpark's wave pool was the nation's first when it opened in 1969. In 2013, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) named it a historical landmark. According to ASME, the Waikiki Beach Wave Pool was also the "first inland surfing facility in North America." Photo: Murphy Bannerman/The Republic

Largest collection of exotic animals: The 95-acre Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium near Litchfield Park is home to Arizona's largest collection of exotic animals — more than 6,000, many of them endangered. Photo: Grey Stafford

Bed of Nails exhibit: The Arizona Science Center's Bed of Nails exhibit was featured on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in March 2009. The exhibit is part of the downtown Phoenix center's Get Charged Up! Gallery on the second floor. Photo: NBC

Official state reptile: The official state reptile is the ridgenose rattlesnake. It is 18 to 20 inches long, and lives in the mountains of southern Arizona. Because it's so rare, the chestnut-colored ridgenose is a protected species. Photo: AP

Seventh-busiest airport: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ranks as the seventh-busiest airport in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Photo: Pat Shannahsm/The Republic

Kartchner Caverns: University of Arizona roommates Randy Tufts and Gary Tenen accidentally discovered the Kartchner Caverns in 1974 in the Whetstone Mountains. The kept it a closely guarded secret for years before they told the landowners, the Kartchner family, who sold the land to the state in 1988. The park opened to the public in 1999. Photo: Pat Shannahan/The Republic

In 1942 , two Japanese internment camps were established in Arizona. The Poston Camp was near the Colorado River, and the Gila River Camp (pictured) was situated near Coolidge, both on Indian land. At their height, they held 30,000 Japanese, most of them American citizens. Angela Cara Pancrazio

Westernmost 'battle' of the Civil War: Most historians agree that the westernmost "battle" of the Civil War took place at Picacho Peak, which towers over the desert floor about 50 miles northwest of Tucson. On April 15, 1862, about two dozen Union and Confederate forces clashed near the base of the peak. When the smoke cleared, three Union soldiers lay dead and three Union soldiers and two Confederate soldiers were wounded. Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic

Kitt Peak National Observatory: Kitt Peak National Observatory houses the world's largest collection of optical telescopes, including one so mammoth it can be seen from Tucson, 56 miles away. Photo: Kitt Peak National Observatory

The Labor Day Flood of 1970 has been described as "the greatest natural disaster in the history of the state." It happened Sept. 5, when more rain fell than on any other day in Arizona's recorded weather history -- 11.4 inches. By the time its waters ebbed away, the flood had claimed 23 lives and caused millions of dollars of damage. Most of the fatalities occurred about 15 miles east of Payson. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Patriots Square laser: It was meant to be a worldwide tourist attraction: a giant laser, controlled by citizens for a quarter, shooting out of a downtown Phoenix park. When it finally debuted in December 1990, reaction was underwhelming. When the city had budget cuts in 1992, the laser was the first item to go. The structure was torn down in 2008. Photo: Tom Tingle/The Republic

Flagstaff's name: Flagstaff was named after a flag-raising ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, according to Marshall Trimble, director of Southwest Studies at Scottsdale Community College and Arizona state historian. Photo: Michael Schennum/The Republic

Sharlot Hall: Sharlot Hall was a frontier poet who was appointed territorial historian in 1909, making her the first female public official in Arizona Territory. She founded the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott in 1928. Photo: Prescott Tourism

Largest university: According to U.S. News and World Report, Arizona State University has the largest enrollment of undergraduates in the United States -- 59,382 students -- for a "traditional brick-and-mortar school." Photo: David Wallace/The Republic

Largest earthquake: According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the largest earthquake ever recorded in Arizona was a 5.6-magnitude quake reported near Fredonia on the Arizona-Utah border on July 21, 1959. It caused only minor damage to chimneys and walls in Fredonia. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Tallest building: The 483-foot-tall building now known as the Chase Tower opened in 1972, and became (and still remains) the tallest structure in Arizona. It has continually been occupied by banks — first Valley National Bank, which subsequently was sold to Bank One and then to Chase. Photo: Rob Schumache/The Republic

'Cities of gold': In 1539, Father Marcos de Niza explored Arizona while seeking "cities of gold." His stories about the Seven Cities of Cibola and their fabulous wealth were so wildly out of touch with reality that the 16th-century Franciscan brother is still sometimes referred to as the “Liar Friar.” Photo: Jupiterimages

Pima cotton: Pima cotton, known for its elegance and durability, was formulated on experimental farms near Sacaton, but long before it became the go-to fabric for shirts and sheets, it played a key role in World War I. Photo: Nick Oza/The Republic

Montezuma Castle: Montezuma Castle National Monument was created to preserve a small village built about 1,000 years ago by Southern Sinagua people, who lived along rivers and creeks in the Verde Valley. Photo: The Republic

Cesar Chavez: In May 1972, Cesar Chavez, head of the United Farm Workers Union, started a fast in Phoenix to protest a new Arizona law that weakened the rights of farm workers to improve working conditions and wages through unionization and strikes. As a result, the movement gained national attention. Photo: The Republic

Tonto Natural Bridge: Standing 183 feet high over a 400-foot-long tunnel that measures 150 feet wide, Tonto Natural Bridge near Payson is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world. Photo: Cronkite News

Petrified Forest National Park: Then Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona once had petrified wood as far as the eye could see. Visitors arriving on the railroad around the turn of the 20th century took care of that, pocketing what they could and leaving behind enough to justify creation of a national forest. Photo: National Park Service

Ernesto Miranda: Possibly Arizona's most famous criminal, Ernesto Miranda is the man responsible for the police warning familiar to every watcher of TV crime dramas: "You have the right to remain silent." Miranda and his attorneys argued that a 1963 rape confession was coerced by Phoenix police, and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed in 1965. Photo: The Republic

Saguaros laws: It is illegal to remove saguaros from public lands, and landowners need a permit from the state Agriculture Department to move them from their own property. Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic

San Xavier del Bac: San Xavier del Bac, a historical mission near Tucson, which dates to 1797, remains an active Catholic church. Fondly known as "the white dove of the desert," San Xavier is one of the finest examples of Spanish colonial architecture in the United States. Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic

Salt deposit: There is a salt deposit in unincorporated Glendale that is about 40 square miles and is more than half a mile thick. Morton Salt has been mining the area since the mid-1980s. Photo: Michael Schennum/The Republic

Woman executed: Eva Dugan was the first woman to be hanged in Arizona. At the hanging in 1930, her head snapped from her body, which prompted officials to ban the practice. Dugan was convicted of murdering her former employer after stealing his car and selling it. Photo: Pat Shannahan/The Republic

State seal: The Great Seal of the State of Arizona contains a miner with a pick and shovel; a quartz mine that the miner works; cattle grazing on the hillsides; orchards and farmland being irrigated; a reservoir of water; the sun rising above mountain peaks; and the state motto "Ditat Deus," Latin for "God enriches." Photo: Cheryl Evans/The Republic

Tovrea Castle: The Tovrea Castle was built between 1929 and 1930 by Alessio Carraro, an Italian immigrant from San Francisco, who envisioned it as the centerpiece of a luxurious East Phoenix resort. He built the distinctive wedding-cake building without blueprints and surrounded it with a desert garden that included 300 varieties of exotic native and imported plants. Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic

Legend City: Legend City, a theme park in Phoenix and Tempe that was envisioned to be as elaborate as Disneyland, opened in 1963. It struggled for years, had various owners and closed permanently in 1982. Highlights of the Western-themed park were a Lost Dutchman log-flume ride, Main Street, a sky ride and the Iron Horse steam train. Photo: The Republic

London Bridge: The London Bridge was sinking into the Thames in 1968 when American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch offered to buy it from the British for $2.46 million. The historic structure was dismantled, crated and shipped to Arizona, where McCulloch rebuilt it in the desert next to his growing resort community. A water channel was added later. It's now one of Arizona's top attractions. Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic

1900 population: The population of Arizona in 1900 was 122,931 residents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Arizona's population was about 6,553,255 residents in 2012. Photo: Jeremy Rowe Vintage Photography

Cactus wren: Arizona's state bird, the cactus wren, is a woody-brown colored bird with a spotted breast. It builds its well-protected nest in the thickest and thorniest sections of cactuses. Photo: Bob Hager

Route 66: Designated in 1926, Route 66 crossed Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. In 1938, it became the first completely paved highway across the United States. It was officially decommissioned in 1985 as interstate highways replaced much of the road. Photo: AP

Largest wildfire: In the summer of 2011, the Wallow Fire burned more than 538,000 acres after a campfire was left unattended. It was the largest wildfire in Arizona's recorded history. Photo: The Republic

Saguaro blossom: Arizona's official state flower is the saguaro blossom, a creamy white flower that blooms during May and June on the tips of cactus arms. They bloom only about 18 hours and are pollinated by bats and moths at night. Photo: The Republic

Meteor Crater: About 50,000 years ago, a 150-foot-wide meteorite slammed into northern Arizona. Now a tourist attraction, Meteor Crater measures 550 feet deep and 2.4 miles around. It was a moon-landing practice site for Apollo astronauts. Photo: Meteor Crater

Make-a-Wish Foundation: The Make-a-Wish Foundation began in Phoenix when it officially granted its first wish in 1981 to a dying child who yearned to be a firefighter. Frank "Bopsy" Salazar was given a uniform and allowed to train a fire hose on cars. A crew also took a ladder up to his hospital window, crawled through and greeted him. The foundation was incorporated May 13, 1983. Photo: Make-a-Wish Foundation of Arizona

'The Family Circus': The beloved comic strip "The Family Circus," begun by the late Bil Keane of Paradise Valley, stars Billy, Dolly, Jeffy and P.J., and is sometimes set in Scottsdale. It began appearing in newspapers Feb. 29, 1960. Photo: The Republic

Record heat: On June 26, 1990, at 2:47 p.m., the National Weather Service thermometer at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport registered 122 degrees, the all-time hottest day ever in the Valley. Photo: The Republic

Gilbert's hay history : Gilbert was once known as the "Alfalfa Hay Shipping Capital of the World.” During World War II, farmers supplied hay for the U.S. Army's horses. Photo: Michael Chow/The Republic

Luke Air Force Base: Luke Air Force Base is named after Frank Luke Jr., who Was a World War I ace pilot shot down over France. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Medal of Honor, the first airman to be awarded the nation's highest medal. Photo: File

'Operation Oryx' at the Phoenix Zoo: In 1963, the Phoenix Zoo launched its famous "Operation Oryx" program, in which five of the nearly extinct animals were brought to the zoo for one of the first captive-breeding programs in history. More than 200 have been born since then. Photo: The Republic